Staunton schools press city for staff raises, warn Shelburne addition funding shortfall

Staunton City Schools officials told a joint budget work session on Jan. 23 that the division’s immediate budget priority is raises for teachers and staff and that recent cost pressures leave little room for other spending.

“Right now we really have one priority for our budget this year and that's raises for our staff,” said Dr. Garrett Smith, superintendent of Staunton City Schools, explaining that salary commitments plus the division’s share of higher insurance premiums consume nearly all of the school division’s guaranteed revenue-share from the city.

The schools’ presentation to Staunton City Council and city staff outlined three reasons for pressure on the division’s budget: an outdated state staffing-based funding formula that the superintendent said does not fully fund state “standards of quality,” recent changes increasing required English-language learner staffing ratios, and post-pandemic growth in students with intensive needs. Dr. Smith described how state proposals that reference a uniform “3% raise” for teachers translate to far smaller increases locally because the commonwealth does not fully fund the workforce the state expects divisions to maintain.

That fiscal squeeze is complicating plans for the Shelburne addition, a multi-phase construction project the school division says has escalated in estimated cost from roughly $10–$11 million at initial planning to $14–$15 million as construction costs rose. Dr. Smith and other board members told council the city funds school capital projects through the city’s capital improvement plan (CIP) and that the schools lack the carryover balances to fill significant gaps. The superintendent said the division’s carryover has fallen: “the year before last it was $139,000; last year was minus $500,000,” and “we don't have $7½ million to contribute” if the project requires that amount.

Council and school staff discussed procurement and bidding. School board members said the Shelburne work was bid in phases and that, when re-bid, market conditions and the end of contractors’ on-site economies can push estimated costs higher. Council members pressed whether updated estimates or rebidding could be undertaken; city staff said an updated estimate review is possible but cautioned that without committed funding the project cannot be put back out to full competitive bid.

Enrollment pressure from recent housing developments was another focus. Dr. Smith said recent apartment and subdivision buildout has already produced measurable student growth: “Bessie Weller numbers…picked up about 20 extra students so far.” School and city staff agreed that additional housing in areas such as South Butte and Middlebrook could increase demand on already crowded elementary schools, particularly McSwain, which the superintendent said is “already over capacity.”

Rodney Rhodes, Staunton’s community development director, explained how development approvals are processed: master plans and phased plats approved years earlier can come forward for final plat approvals, and by-right projects under the zoning ordinance do not go to council-level review. “Rezoning is the time when we could look at...the impacts on the school system,” Rhodes said, adding that analysis of impacts at the staff level is limited and that some assessments would likely need to be contracted out.

School officials asked for clearer, earlier data-sharing from planning staff so the division can forecast bus, staffing and space needs sooner in the development timeline. Leslie Beauregard, Staunton’s city manager, offered to include school staff on relevant mailings and to continue the joint budget conversations through the spring. She also noted the city’s CIP funding decisions and carryover balances will be part of the budget deliberations between now and the budget adoption date.

Board members reiterated that improving teacher pay is critical to sustaining recent gains in student outcomes. Dr. Smith highlighted the division’s priorities beyond salaries — including special education requirements (IEPs), boiler replacement needs at cost estimates presented as high — but emphasized that dollars available from the revenue-share largely will be dedicated to personnel costs unless the city can allocate additional CIP funds or the schools find outside grant funding.

The session included an inventory of possible collaboration areas: shared communications (the city and schools have discussed sharing newsletters and promotional materials), shared purchasing or combined infrastructure projects such as solar panel procurement to capture economies of scale, and staff-level sharing where appropriate. School board members endorsed continued coordination of communications and indicated they will work with city communications staff on a scope for shared items.

The joint session occurred ahead of an unrelated public hearing later that night: the city’s CFO, Jesse Moyers, told council a major budget amendment totaling $36,126,671 will be formally considered by council on Feb. 13; many of the amendment’s appropriations reflect grant carryovers and capital program adjustments. No formal council action on the school requests was taken at the work session; council members and school officials agreed to continue discussions through the budget season.

Nut graf: Staunton’s schools told city leaders that unless the city provides additional CIP funds or state funding is increased, the division will prioritize staff raises over other projects, while rising construction and enrollment pressures leave the Shelburne addition and classroom capacity at risk.

Questions raised by council about timing, rebidding, and whether the city can use carryover or targeted CIP support all point to decisions that must be made during the city’s budget process this winter and spring. The council and school board agreed to keep communication channels open and to pursue more precise enrollment-impact analysis for new housing projects.

Ending: Council and school board members scheduled further budget conversations during the city budget season; the schools will provide requested planning and enrollment materials, and the city will detail CIP carryover and potential funds available to consider for the Shelburne project and other capital needs.